THE ALPHA'S CAPTIVE

AmandaTWO YEARS BACKEighteen.Even though it's a little quantity, it's significant,to me, at least.I feel a stinging rain lashing me as I shudder. I've never been able to figure out why it's essential in a location as sticky as the Stationers Diner because it soaks the front of my blue and white striped dress, which is so spotless.I might have the stamina to care about the criticism I'll receive for serving customers while dressing as though I just went for a dive if it weren't today. Today, though, is distinct. Special. Even though it is a typical Wednesday afternoon with the same murky blue sky overhead.I aim for a little puddle a few feet away as I fling the unlit cigarette I have in my palm, which is just as damp as my grayish-white tennis shoes. It comes close, but falls short. Again.Stupid dude.Instead, it is reunited with its drowned relatives from earlier periods of time.The one birthday present I've wanted since my mother closed her eyes when I was six years old and no

AmandaWitnesses claimed to have previously seen the red Porsche. What else would she be doing there if she weren't usually in his lap while they were having sex?My eyelids are moving."You'd think the guy would remember to at least put the cruise control on or, you know, wait until he had her in a bed," the woman said.The sole reaction is a male snort.The hotdog and onion fragrance that comes with movement that is drifting towards me is potent enough to indicate that the individual had eaten recently. Perhaps he simply couldn't wait. My face is swept by a look. I want to turn away because it is so sharply piercing. I can't say that I blame him. I would fuck a girl like that six ways from Sunday if I had one.An amused voice remarks, "That's hardly the professionalism I'd expect from a cop."As if I didn't see you ogling her tits when she was out cold, I said, "She's out cold. What the hell were you taught at the Academy?Bradley, get out of here.I was so closely snuggled in this

AMANDAWould you mind eating something other than hotdogs for lunch and supper, Bradley?I had just placed the white plastic dinner plate cover on the nightstand when the familiar voice causes me to shiver.The police.Shit.My eyes flit across to the platter that Nurse Amy had just placed in my lap.She had helped me get up earlier so I could use the loo, and as soon as my legs gave out beneath me, I realized I wouldn't be able to flee anytime soon. I would have been on the ground with no concept of how to get back up if she hadn't been there.So even though I don't have any leg injuries, a week of inactivity has made me feel as though I have.She not only assisted me in using the loo, but she also got rid of the beeping device. The police are going to see the beeping equipment is gone and they'll know my condition has altered enough for them to stay, even though I still have the morphine drip needle inserted in the back of my hand."They have ketchup on them, and everyone knows that

Darius may have been playing a joke on me all along by giving me the impression that I had a chance to go, or perhaps something made him suspicious after all.But now that Darius's hunter and the best pack nose, Nathan, is here, my life is gone. It would already be over even if it were another shifter.Amanda, every shifter in this city is aware that you are mine. They respond to me. If you try to run away once again, someone will catch you and keep you until I get there. And if you're unlucky, they'll have the kind of time that makes you want to ask them to let you come back.I can still hear Darius's whisper before he tied me to his wall for "safe-keeping." I will never forget it, even if I live to be a hundred years old.At first, I didn't think he was real. But then I recalled how people had treated him as though he were a gift from God. Darius was always served best by it. No was always the response to his requests, but when do you need it? Of course, it will be there if you say

Hello, woman. How are you doing?I realize the voice speaking to me from next me and not some other woman way too late.After removing my hands, I blush at the few inches that separate my face from the car's wheels. I swallow forcefully, turn towards where I heard the male speak, and blush once more when I see the small group of onlookers staring at me from the pavement.The car door opens with a groan. "Hey? She's fine, right? A loud voice shouts.The voice next to me responds, "Yeah," in the same tone. "As pure as a sheet."She appeared out of nowhere, sh*t. There for a moment, then elsewhere. The loud man's voice falters.A woman in a red parka approaches with a worried expression on her face. But in her rear...I jerk myself to my feet and dash forward, weaving between the traffic I've stopped on one side of the street. On the other hand, I narrowly miss being screamed past by a matte-black sports car, which causes my hair to fly around. As I run across the moving automobiles, I h